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Savoy (Rise of the Moderns)
The Kingdom of Italy have the Power of The Renaissance. Game Info National bonuses Starting government: Liberalism *+10% Food Commerce Limit *Can build 7 farms instead of 5 per city, farms generate +2 wealth *Start with a granary and receive Granary upgrades for free *Wonders cost 25% less, can be built an age early, and you may build two per City Unique units *Condottiere 1 heavy cavalry unit that is superior to all others, but has a high ramp cost. *Genoese irregulars 1 => Marine snipers 2-3 => Bersaglieri => 4 => Bersaglieri Corps 5 more powerful archer/pandur unit. These units are substantially less costly. This line merges with the light infantry line in 4. *Italian arditi 5 assault infantry *carabinieri 4 => autoblinda 5 cavalry unit with better hitpoints and range (unlike normal vehicles, the autoblinda is created from the Staff College). Auxiliaries * 1 Merchant cavalryman — Weak but rather fast unit. * 1 Renegade knight * 1 Landsknecht - replaced by Garde Écossaise in 2 * 2 Red Turban cavalry * 3 Stradiot * 3 Foreign chasseur * 3 Kuruç * 4 Terek cossack * 5 African chasseur. * 5 Tankette. Unique buildings *Academy - trains your elite units *Cathedral - performs taxation and religion research, and is the main stopping point for your auxiliary units. *Military-industrial complex (requires 6 levels of Military research; available from 4) **Units heal within your borders **Reduces the build time of ships, foundry units and aircraft **Has a +10 oil and +10 metal bonus (once 3rd Green researched). **Reduces the knowledge costs of science research and the research time for military research. **Grants access to upgrades that allow for the creation of dreadnoughts, howitzers and heavy machine guns in 5. **Has a facility for building recoilless gun infantry and tanks (different non-European sides build different tanks in 5 - Tanks are powerful mechanised units that destroy all other units, but have their own weaknesses - recoilless guns destroy them; they are vulnerable from aircraft attack; a direct hit from a cannon could potentially destroy them; and they are slower than tankettes, although they are much powerful in a shot-for-shot battle.) Spoiler As inheritors of the Renaissance, the Italians have a few cultural and economic powers that reflect well this golden heritage. The ability to build 2 wonders per city, as opposed to just 1 will allow Italy a lead in a wonder race, while the extra food and wealth generated from agriculture will provide for an excellent platform to support the creation of a strong and variegated army. Military-wise, however, Italy is fairly weak in the early game, having only a heavy cavalry unit accompanied with skirmishers. In fact, after the Imperial Era, Italy no longer has any line infantry, their role taken up by the Bersaglieri marksmen. Things only look better during the Mechanisation Era, when Italy is capable of getting out an armoured car, without needing to do research from a military-industrial complex, but there is always the possibility that an Italian player will be facing off against tanks and powerful guns. Potentially dangerous adversaries can be found in factions such as the USA, with its capable infantry and cavalry, or the Russians, who with their supplies of oil can create the war machines that would outmatch Italy's armoured cars. Germany is also dangerous, with its stosstruppen capable of taking apart even the mechanised units of the early 20th century. Thus, a wise player would need to find a means of getting better allies to fight on their behalf, or to curb the expansion of other factions capable of outbooming Italy in the Mechanisation Era. Italian archers and skirmishers will ensure that the enemy's heavier infantrymen and other infantry can be kept at bay if not cut down, until heavier units such as cavalry and artillery can then be used to cut down the rest of your opponent's armies. CtW As a newfound nation on the peripheries of Europe, your work is quite cut out for you. Napoleon has returned back from exile and is moving up to meet the Allies in Belgium. If he wins, a whole war will break out again. Choose your allies with care, as siding with the wrong people will definitely result in annihilation. You are rather lucky to own olive oil in your capital of Piemont. With olive oil, you should be guaranteed a steady free flow of wealth on which you can build your nation, and eventually the unification of Italy under your banner. At this juncture, you have two options to choose. You can either choose to join the scramble for Africa - which is hitherto unclaimed in its totality, or go forth and work towards the enlargement of your European holdings. Note, however, that should Napoleon be defeated, the Council of Europe will be imposed upon all European nations - another nation cannot attack another without serious consequences! - and if you become the most powerful nation on the continent, you will be bound to attract the envy of other nations. Note, too that annexation of another nation into your own borders won't be tolerated - to annex another nation into your borders risks political repercussions, mainly being turned upon by other states previously allied thereto. The League of Nations, representing all the minor powers of all Europe, consolidated as a single entity, normally won't go to war but is a great source of bargains, handling bonus cards and reselling them to other factions. It will also pay a handsome price for whatever bonus cards you sell to it, but will often charge you a higher price for different cards. This is especially so if you wish for the higher-level cards, such as Betrayal and/or Sabotage. Declaring war overtly is not a wise idea, at least until the Industrial Era, when the cost of declaring war goes down sufficiently. Yet, be aware that a pro-Unification movement is growing strong throughout the Italian peninsula. This might result in territories breaking away from your opponents, but can also mean the same happening to yours as well. Thus, be wary and take precautions - you surely do not want your empire to go to pieces just as you are on the verge of war. Thus, the Italian art of war would be to tread carefully, and to ally with the right people. Africa should be made a vital part of your plans. Save for Egypt, Cape Town and Portuguese Africa, the whole of Africa is virtually unoccupied, but you can expect the British and Portuguese (and later on, the Germans) to occupy Africa. Note that at the beginning of the Mechanisation Era, any remnants of Southern Africa not flagged by any major nations immediately reverts to Germany, thus you might want to be wary. The Middle East is less of a strategic area, despite being strategic for any military action against British India, or Central Europe or Asia. Any attempts to subdue or annex the Ottoman Empire will be seen as a threat by the British, French, Austrians and Russians, and will be dealt with accordingly. Thus you will need to think carefully about where to build up your colonies. Starting territories and diplomatic stances Starting diplomacy *Alliances: League of Nations, Austria Starting territory: *Sardinia *Piemont Initial bonuses: 1 Missionaries Objectives: *Conquer more territory than other Western powers before the Mechanisation Era *Conquer the following territories before the Mechanisation Era, annexing them to your nation: **Rome **Tuscany **Puglia **Naples **North Italian Plain **Sicily History The small Duchy of Piedmont-Savoy was, although tiny, nevertheless an important factor in European politics between 1500 and 1800. Strategically placed in the area occupied today be South-Eastern France and North-Western Italy, it was severely damaged by the Italian Wars during the first half of the sixteenth century. The duchy was shorn of its Swiss possessions (including Geneva), and King Francis I of France occupied the rest of the duchy in 1536, forcing Duke Charles III into exile. The French occupation did not last, however. The 1559 Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis, which brought an end to half a century of pan-European conflict (especially between the French and the Habsburgs of Austria and Spain), restored Piedmont to Duke Emmanuel Philibert (1553 - 1580, the son of Duke Charles III and known to contemporaries as "Ironhead"). Emmanuel was, however, made to recognise the permanent loss of the duchy's former Swiss possessions, but received the consolation of being able to marry the sister of King Henry II of France. On returning to his homeland, Duke Emmanuel moved his capital to the Italian city of Turin, whilst at the same time retaining the quintessentially French character of his Court. Duke Emmanuel Philibert's son, Duke Charles Emmanuel I (1580 - 1630), made an attempt to recover Geneva by force of arms, but failed, having to be satisfied with the Piedmontese marquisate of Saluzzo, which he gained by the 1601 Treaty of Lyons. The duchy would not, however, truly come into the European mainstream until the War of the Spanish Succession, which took place during the rule of Duke Victor Amadeus II (1675 - 1713). Initially supporting the French, he switched sides in 1703, his cousin Eugene of Savoy soon becoming the overall commander of the Imperial armies. His reward came in the Peace of Utrecht, which made him King of Sicily, which he ruled until 1720, when he agreed to swap it for the Kingdom of Sardinia. Ten years later, he abdicated in favour of his son. The Duchy of Piedmont-Savoy and Kingdom of Sardinia continued to be held together until Napoleon swept through Northern Italy in 1796. The family would, however, continue to play an important role in Italian politics - they were Kings of Italy until they were deposed in 1946. Piedmont was not immune from the religious conflict which swept Europe after the 1520s. However, it did manage to escape the worst excesses of the Protestant versus Catholic conflict. The principle "Protestant" minority in the Duchy was a group known as the Waldensians, who had actually been around since the twelfth century. Initially having started as a mendicant (begging) order, it had been outlawed in 1186 and 1215. When Protestantism began to make itself felt, the Waldensians adjusted their beliefs to fit in with the new-style religion. Despite occasional attempts by the authorities to suppress them, usually at the behest of and with the help of the French, they continued to battle against the odds until they were allowed their full religious freedom in 1848. Perhaps one of the most unlikely candidates for the role of a central player within Europe, Piedmont nevertheless managed to weather the storms which occasionally buffeted it, and emerged at the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1814 as a stronger entity than ever. It often punched well above its weight, as its role in the War of the Spanish Succession showed, and its rulers would later go on to reign over the united Kingdom of Italy. Category:Factions Category:Factions Category:Grand CtW factions